Turkey’s escorting of grain ships to the Black Sea is not a viable alternative to the collapse of the grain deal after Russia suspended its participation in it on Monday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said on Friday, CNN reported, News.ro reported. .

“I consider this option dangerous and impossible,” Vershinin emphasized at the press conference.

Moscow’s return to the agreement is in the hands of Russia’s “foreign partners,” he says.

Currently, no other agreement on this matter is being conducted, Vershinin assures.

Russia is developing alternative ways of exporting Russian agricultural products, he said.

Moscow has “serious contacts with African countries regarding the supply of Russian goods, including grain,” as well as with Turkey, he says.

“We are ready to analyze various options to continue supplying the world market with both grain and fertilizers,” he said.

“Among the countries with which we have very close cooperation is Turkey, a traditional cooperation, and we are now in contact with it to see what can be done in the current situation,” he said.

The Istanbul agreement of June 2022 on the export of Ukrainian grain to the Black Sea, brokered by the UN and Turkey, which is considered vital in the world food supply, has been extended three times.

Russia has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from this agreement.

It first withdrew from the deal in October 2022, but returned to it a few days later.

He demands the removal of obstacles that have been imposed on him to prevent him from exporting, in turn, food and fertilizers.

According to the UN, Ukraine annually supplies an average of 45 million tons of grain.

Ukraine is among the five largest exporters of barley, corn and wheat.

It is the largest exporter of sunflower oil, accounting for 46% of this world export.